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suited and booted

suited and booted

1 6.3
Dressed in smart, formal clothes for a special event
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : bien vestido
  • Everyone arrived suited and booted for the formal dinner party.

Examples

  • Let's get you two suited and booted.

  • Where's he going this time of night all suited and booted?

  • They are all suited and booted.

    Blog text (32)
  • For the wedding, he was suited and booted in a sharp tuxedo.

  • After getting suited and booted for the gala, she felt confident and ready to shine.

Synonyms

dressed-up
vssuited and booted
82 2.7

Wearing special formal clothes for a party or event

is specifically about formal smartness for special occasions
well-dressed
vssuited and booted
29 2.4

Wearing neat, clean clothes that look smart, like a suit or nice shirt

is more about formal smartness for special events rather than general style
turned out
vssuited and booted
22 4.1

Dressed neatly and looking smart for a special event

focuses on formal smartness for occasions more than general impressiveness
dressy
vssuited and booted
12 3.6

Suitable for formal events like a wedding or party

is specifically about wearing smart formal clothes for special occasions
spruced up
vssuited and booted
  • Informal
3 4.6

Neat and attractive, often dressed or decorated for a special occasion

is focused on being formally smart for events rather than simple tidiness
dressed to the nines
vssuited and booted
  • Informal
3 7.6

Wearing very elegant formal clothes for a special occasion

is formal too but usually less extreme in elegance
attired
vssuited and booted
  • Formal
1 5.4

Wearing special or formal clothes

is narrower focusing on formal smart looks for special events
dressed to impress
vssuited and booted
  • Informal
1 5.6

Wearing smart, attractive clothes so other people notice you

emphasizes formal smartness more than intention to attract notice
dressed to kill
vssuited and booted
  • Informal
1 6.8

Wearing very attractive, stylish clothes to get people's attention

is about neat formal clothes rather than bold attention seeking
suited
vssuited and booted
1 3.5

Wearing clothes made for a certain job or event

specifies smart formal clothes for special events rather than general appropriateness
to dudded up
vssuited and booted
  • Archaic
8.2

To wear nice clothes for a special event

emphasizes smart formal clothing rather than decoration or adornment
togged up
vssuited and booted
  • UK
9.1

Wearing smart clothes for a special event

means neat and formal specifically for special occasions
dressed spiffily
vssuited and booted
  • Informal
7.8

Wearing stylish, elegant clothes

leans more toward formal clothes for special occasions than mere neatness

Antonyms

81 1.3

Suitable for everyday wear rather than formal occasions

undressed
  • NSFW
1.9

A person who is not wearing any clothes

How Formal

formal
  • Formal
394 3.0
suited and booted
  • UK
1 6.3
smart
127 2.4
neat
144 1.0
casual
81 1.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

suited + and + booted

The overall sense 'dressed smartly/formally' is largely derivable from the constituents: 'suited' (wearing a suit) and 'booted' (wearing boots), so a learner who knows those words can infer someone is dressed up. However, the phrase is a fixed colloquial collocation and the contribution of 'booted' to formality is not fully predictable, so the expression's nuance and register may not be immediately clear to a B1 learner without exposure.

Etymology

Suited and booted comes from the simple image of someone wearing a smart suit and polished boots, a complete outfit that shows they are ready to go. So the phrase now means 'dressed smartly' or 'ready for a special event'.